The Uygur who puts the accent firmly on Beijing

When we met, Asanjan Memet was negotiating with a tourist operator, trying to persuade the company in Sichuan province to invest in his community on the outskirts of Beijing.

After nine years living and working in the Chinese capital, the Xinjiang-born 33-year-old speaks with a Beijing accent. "Unless people know my name or my colleagues introduce me, strangers don't know I'm a Uygur from my speech or mannerisms," he said with smile.

Asanjan works in Shidu township in the Fangshan district, close to the border with Hebei province, about 80 kilometers from the center of Beijing. The area is famous for its mountainous Karst landscape along the Juma River, which runs through the town.